Say what you need about millennials that we’re obsessive about nostalgia, caught within the early 2000s or no matter however the Millennium Tour jogged my memory precisely why we maintain on so tight. The music, the dancing, the Child Phat denims. It wasn’t only a live performance. It was a reset.
We’ve been catching warmth from Boomers and Gen Z for some time now. Boomers suppose we’re entitled. Gen Z thinks we’re missing authenticity and holding onto an identity disaster whereas being caught in a ‘90s fantasy.
Name me a typical millennial, then. I cherished rising up within the ‘90s and early 2000s. Saturday nights meant packed skating rinks in Akron, Ohio. Folks may’ve chilled by the tables, however as soon as B2K or Lil’ Bow Wow got here on, the rink was a dance ground. Later, I graduated to accommodate events and teenage golf equipment — earlier than bottle service ruined the vibe—dancing to the radio model of “Wait (The Whisper Music)” by the Ying Yang Twins and Bobby Valentino’s “Inform Me.” In case your hair wasn’t sweated out by the top of the night time, did you even go?
My solely remorse? Not going to a single Scream Tour. No band tee. No shared tales. That remorse was solidified early as a result of I couldn’t come to highschool with the enduring B2K or Bow Wow paraphernalia. I don’t know if my mother and father missed the memo or simply refused to take a seat by way of a live performance stuffed with screaming teenagers, however it’s an expertise I needed to sit out and will by no means join with mates about —till now.
One among my mates gave me the prospect to go to The Millennium Tour at Wintrust Enviornment in Chicago. This was my redemption arc. I used to be lastly going to make my teenage self proud. And there was no manner I used to be lacking out (once more) on artists who formed among the best eras of my life.
We had been raised on hope and had been advised to dream huge — even when life didn’t ship on that promise. And for one night time, the music gave us that promise again.
Look, I didn’t love displaying up earlier than the 8 p.m. begin time (millennials are aunties now, however that doesn’t imply we roll up early). However my pal insisted, primarily for merch and drinks, and I’m glad she did as a result of the second I acquired that band tee (20 years late), the nostalgia hit onerous. It additionally gave me an opportunity to witness the complete millennial collective expertise by way of vogue. Throughout me had been ladies in jersey clothes, velour Juicy Couture tracksuits, airbrushed tees and braids with bandana scarves. The “twisties within the entrance, curls within the again” technology had entered the constructing.
I used to be already impressed by the group earlier than the music even began.
Nivea kicked issues off and immediately took me again to my burned CD playlist period. She sang “Laundromat” and “Don’t Mess With My Man” like no time had handed. The Ying Yang Twins adopted, and as soon as they began performing “Whistle Whereas You Twurk,” it was over. No person was sitting down when “Get Low” got here on. That observe nonetheless hits prefer it did in 2002.
We had a fast second to catch our breath and get better earlier than RSVP — which stands for Ray J, Sammie, Bobby V and Pleasure P, took the stage and did a 30-minute mash-up of their hits. Ray-J’s “Wait a Minute” remains to be in my rotation. However Sammie? Sammie was the one.
Wearing black leather-based pants and no shirt, Sammie appeared on the crowd and mentioned, “Let’s present them who the f**ok I’m,” proper earlier than going into his 1999 hit “I Like It.” The best way we screamed that hook like our automobile notes and hire trusted it? Unmatched.
Sammie didn’t should do an excessive amount of as a result of we sang our hearts out phrase for phrase and with out lacking a beat. His From the Backside To The High was the primary album my mother and father purchased for me, practically 25 years in the past. Whereas his debut R&B album stays timeless, Sammie jogged my memory of—dare I say—the nice ol’ days. It was that second the place I felt, “You simply needed to be there” to grasp what these songs imply to Black millennials.
However the second that resonated the deepest for me was when Bow Wow walked out. Possibly it’s the Ohio pleasure, however I used to be beaming seeing him in customized white, grey and crimson Air Pressure 1s with “OSU” etched on the facet for The Ohio State College. Exterior of LeBron James and some others, Bow Wow’s roots in Ohio was one thing I used to be all the time pleased with rising up. He kicked off “Take Ya Residence” with the Harlem Shake and I swear, I used to be transported. He even introduced out Twista, who I hadn’t seen in years.
You’d suppose after greater than 20 years of touring Bow Wow, Omarion and Trey Songz may’ve lacked the vitality to placed on a present that millennials desperately wanted— however no. They nonetheless introduced it.
Positive, there have been just a few corny moments. I didn’t want the animated ice on the display throughout Omarion’s efficiency of “Ice.” And Kaine from the Ying Yang Twins air-humping the stage? Sir, please. This isn’t 2005.
There’s science behind why live shows like this strike such an emotional chord. Research present that stay music prompts a number of areas within the mind tied to emotion, reminiscence and reward.
However right here’s the factor: with all of the discuss millennials being caught previously, I’d argue that remembering the place you’ve been helps you determine the place you’re going. And there’s science behind why live shows like this strike such an emotional chord. Research present that stay music prompts a number of areas within the mind tied to emotion, reminiscence and reward.
Once we hear songs from our youth, our brains actually and figuratively gentle up — not simply with recognition, however with emotional depth. Music can set off dopamine which is identical feel-good chemical sparked by love and good meals. And nostalgia? It’s been confirmed to decrease stress, improve optimism and even make individuals really feel bodily hotter.
So when 10,000 individuals packed that enviornment, dripping sweat, screaming lyrics from our flip-phone days, that wasn’t delusion. It was collective therapeutic. A reminder of who we had been, who we’re and the way far we’ve come.
Millennials carry lots. Analysis exhibits that we have now a better fee of despair than another technology. We had been raised on hope and had been advised to dream huge — even when life didn’t ship on that promise. And for one night time, the music gave us that promise again.
Our mother and father and academics taught us that “in case you can consider it, you may obtain it,” which is simply partially true. A few of us acquired hit with a actuality test later in life. There was an enormous technological revolution the place we went from VHS tapes to streaming and Polaroids to continually posting on social media in a blink of an eye fixed.
Then, we entered maturity throughout a monetary disaster and recession the place we had been taught to nonetheless go to highschool regardless of there being fewer jobs. Lots of my mates have crippling pupil mortgage debt tied to a level they’ll barely use. And the chance to personal a house grows extra grim every day, particularly in case you didn’t purchase a home earlier than 2020.
Regardless of what different generations say about millennials being caught previously, the Millennium Tour proved that some issues are price returning to. Each exhibits offered out the ten,000-seat enviornment, and for 3 hours, our childhood soundtracks reminded us what pleasure used to really feel like full with sweaty hair, sore toes and full hearts.
That night time, I left with no voice, frizzy edges and a deep sense of gratitude for the period that raised me. When enjoyable was actual, dancing was obligatory and the music carried an entire totally different weight than it does now. The vitality? Therapeutic.
And sure, this auntie was in mattress earlier than midnight as a result of let’s be actual grown pleasure comes with a bedtime, too.
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